RyeCity REVIEW THE
June 1, 2018 | Vol. 6, Number 22 | www.ryecityreview.com
Developers break ground on 120 Old Post Road complex
Thank you
Former Rye City Councilman Terry McCartney, a veteran, marches with other Rye war veterans during the city’s annual Memorial Day parade on Purchase Street. For photos, see page 6. Photo/Franco Fino.
Mayor appoints 8 to Long Island Sound tunnel committee By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer Rye Mayor Josh Cohn has appointed eight residents to the city’s ad hoc advisory committee dedicated to overseeing the governor’s proposal of a tunnel linking Long Island to Westchester County. On May 23, the mayor, a Democrat, appointed residents each to different terms, ranging from one to three years on the committee. Former Republican Mayor Doug French has been chosen to serve a one-year term on the city Tunnel Advisory Committee. Additionally, the committee is comprised of two members from the city Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Committee, including its chairman Brian Dempsey.
As of press time, six developers have already have expressed their desire to the state to build a tunnel that would connect either the city of Rye or the village of Port Chester to Long Island. In April, the independent parties responded to the state Department of Transportation, DOT, request for expressions of interest, REOI, after the state, on behalf of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, sent out the request in late January. According to the REOI, the state sought input from private investors on engineering, environmental, operations and financial considerations for a future proposal. Typically, an REOI is used to assess interest in a project and to solicit ideas and information
from interested parties. According to a DOT study, an 18-mile tunnel connecting Westchester County and Long Island could cost approximately between $31.5 billion and $55.4 billion, but could potentially produce $500 million in toll revenue per year. Several municipalities in Westchester, including Port Chester, as well as communities in Nassau County, have already expressed their opposition to the project. In Long Island, several municipalities have formed a consortium to fight the governor’s proposal. The Rye City Council formed its ad hoc committee in February, after the state began heavily pursuing the project.
While there have been proposals to connect Long Island to Westchester dating all the way back to the 1930s, Rye and surrounding communities have continually opposed such a largescale project upon every new iteration of it. Most notably, master builder Robert Moses and former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, a Republican, pursued building a Rye-Oyster Bay bridge in the 1960s; however, the plan, which was also met with widespread opposition, never materialized. As of press time, there is no further information from Cuomo’s office on the state’s next plan of action. CONTACT: franco@hometwn.com
Reconstruction of an antiquated 3-story office building into a 95-unit luxury senior condominium development at 120 Old Post Road has begun, after several years of planning. Developers and local officials celebrated the groundbreaking of the $100 million development, known as the St. Regis Residences Rye, on May 17. The owners of the property, Old Post Road Associates, which is a subsidiary of Rye’s Alfred Weissman Real Estate, is constructing five three-to-four story buildings, after demolishing a dated 75,000-square foot commercial office structure that has remained vacant since 2009. “We have an excess of office space and one of our great opportunities is to repurpose that space for a better use,” said state Assemblyman Steve Otis, a Rye Democrat. “This is going to allow people to come and stay in Rye.” The development, which is expected to be completed sometime in early 2020, will be the world’s first St. Regis Residences that will not be a part of a hotel. There are more than 40 hotels in 19 countries with the St. Regis title that are all owned by Fortune 500 company Marriot International. The residences in Rye are exclusively for seniors, meaning at least one resident in each condo must be 55 or older. The complex is age-restricted so no residents under 18 can reside there full time. Condos available for purchase include one-to-four bedrooms, with each unit size ranging from
1,000 to 3,000 square feet. As of press time, the list pricing has not been established by the developers. The site is being constructed with approximately 314 heated underground parking spaces, an indoor pool and wellness complex, and lounge and entertainment spaces. Additionally, the 328,000 square-foot development will include a library, a pet spa, charging stations for electric vehicles and a theater screening room. The city Planning Commission gave its final approval to the developers in January 2017, after a successful review process in which the development was virtually unopposed from residents. At the time, Councilman Richard Mecca, a Republican and member of the Planning Commission, said Rye was going to get “a real Class A building on that property.” In 2016, the Rye City Council approved a change in zoning to allow for the construction of an active senior residential development at the site. In years past, the property owners were unable to march ahead with the project, as the zoning of that area only permitted for office building use. The city also faced backlash from residents when a plan emerged to build a hotel at the site. In 2012, Old Post Road Associates presented a plan to build a Hampton Inn hotel at the property. The developers purchased the Rye property for $1.4 million in 1997. -Reporting by Franco Fino
Follow us on Twitter @ryecityreview Like us on facebook.com/ryecityreview